a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to pocketed bed sheets, and, more particularly to a bed sheet having side pockets designed for predetermined ingress and egress for thereby controlling placement of and removal of objects from within the pockets.
b. Description of Related Art
In the art, there presently exist a variety of known bed sheets for mattresses, with the sheets having pockets and the like for placement and/or organization of objects. The typical pocketed bed sheet includes one or more side pockets having an opening at a top area thereof for storage of objects such as television remote-controls, keys and other such objects. Other forms of pocketed bed sheets include pockets with zippers, buttons or other forms of means for closing the pockets.
Known prior art bed sheets are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,836 to Everson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,250 to Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,574 to Stromatt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,009 to Putka, U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,814 to Cybulski, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,544 to Graebe, D471,049 to Dale, and D481,899 to Thomas, the respective disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,836 to Everson discloses a bed sheet with convenience pouches having elastic pockets. FIG. 1 of Everson shows a typical fitted bottom sheet 10 with a convenience pouch 12 attached on side 14 of sheet 10. Pouch 12 includes a single longitudinal pocket, or may be divided into a plurality of smaller pockets 16 by the provision of vertical seams 18. Alternatively, a plurality of pockets may be separately provided as desired. Furthermore, sheet 10 and pouches 12 are made in such a manner as to allow items to be slipped into the pouch 12 or retrieved through an elasticized opening 26 at the top of the pouch 12.
One exemplary drawback of the convenience pouches disclosed by Everson is that objects can be inadvertently dropped into the pockets. More importantly, for homes with babies and toddlers, it is often necessary to provide means for preventing inadvertent placement of objects in pockets and other such areas. It is also necessary to provide means for deterring babies and toddlers from accessing such pockets and removing objects therefrom. The present invention thus purports to overcome at least the aforementioned exemplary drawbacks of the pockets disclosed by Everson.
Another type of pocketed bed sheet is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,250 to Taylor. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of Taylor, each of the pocket members 14 includes elastic bands 17 disposed along top edges of the front and side walls 15,16 for closing the opening to secure objects and items in pocket member 14. The pockets further contain fastening members 20, which are strips of hook and loop fasteners attached inside the pocket members 14 for securely closing the pockets.
While the pocketed bed sheet of Taylor overcomes some of the noted drawbacks of the convenience pouches disclosed by Everson, when the pockets of Taylor are disposed in the closed position by means of fastening members 20, the fastening members must be disengaged to enable objects to be placed into the pockets. Thus, the additional step of disengaging fastening members 20 is required before an object can be placed in the pocket for Taylor, and furthermore, the additional step of disengaging fastening members 20 is required in order to remove an object.
It would therefore be of benefit to provide a bed sheet having side pockets designed for predetermined ingress and egress for thereby controlling placement of and removal of items from within the pockets, without the need for engagement or disengagement of a fastening member. It would also be of benefit to provide a pocketed bed sheet which deters the inadvertent placement of objects in the pockets, for homes especially with babies and toddlers, and further having a means for deterring babies and toddlers from accessing such pockets and removing objects therefrom. There also remains a need for a pocketed bed sheet having side pockets which are simpler and more economical to manufacture, utilize less raw material, and are ergonomically superior to those of the prior art.